Independent councilors oppose party politics at first Sherbrooke meeting

The first meeting of Sherbrooke’s City Council took place on Monday night, staring in right off the bat with concerns about the potential power of political parties. Despite the fact that the council is now composed almost entirely of independent councilors, the question came up after Évelyne Beaudin, the only member of the Sherbrooke Citoyen party who was voted into office, gave notice of her party’s intention to name her as “councilor designate” for Sherbrooke Citoyen. In that capacity, outlined in the Cities and Towns Act, Beaudin would be entitled to up to $330,000 per year for the formation of a cabinet to act in the role of official opposition.

Section 114 of the act allows the leader of any party that obtained more than 20 per cent of the vote in an election to designate an elected official as “councilor designate,” which then allows the hiring of a chief of staff and other cabinet members to aid her in her work. The law also calls for the creation of a budget appropriation to cover the cost of office staff for both the Mayor and the party, with two thirds going to the Mayor’s costs and one third to the party.

Longtime Fleurimont councilor Remi Demers was the first to voice opposition to the idea, stating that while he recognized the legal right he was uncomfortable with committing such a large amount of public funding into the hands of one councilor.

Demers’ discomfort was echoed by almost every other councilor present, with

some questioning the morality of spending the city’s money on the interests of a political party while others questioned how Sherbrooke Citoyen, a party founded on the idea of serving the population with greater transparency and democratic responsibility, can justify putting an added cost on the back of residents for purely administrative purposes.

Lennoxville Borough President Claude Charron went so far as to propose that the city ask the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) to petition for a change to the law at the provincial level.

Mayor Steve Lussier also recognized the legality of Beaudin’s claim but urged her to reconsider her decision.

“I’m going to let her think a bit about what she wants to do with that money,” Lussier said. “I said I am a mayor who will work with anyone, but should we take the money of the people of Sherbrooke for use by a political party?”

“I don’t know what is going to happen.” He added “it’s her choice, but she will need to explain it to the citizens.”

Renouveau loses another

At the end of the night Danielle Berthold, the councilor for the de Desranleau district who served for the last four years under the Renouveau Sherbrookois, announced that she was leaving the party to sit as an independent.

“This was a difficult but carefully considered decision,” Berthold said, explaining that after being surprised by the election results on the night of November 5, she turned to those people who had given her advice over the last four years and listened to what local residents had to say

“It was a good decision,” Lussier said of Berthold’s decision. “The citizens have spoken.”

Vincent Boutin, the last remaining Renouveau Sherbrookois councilor followed Berthold’s announcement with his own, indicating that he would be remaining with the party and working to renew its image in the city over the next four years. He said that he bears no animousity towards his former colleague, even if he feels differently than she does.

A new council gets on its feet

Outside matters of party politics, the first meeting was orderly with only a few bumps in the road brought on by people adjusting to new positions.

Nearly every major issue that has faced the council in the last year, from the preservation of local woodlands to noise complaints over the Saint-élie Drag raceway, was brought before the new council during the public question period in hopes of currying favour with the new administration.

The mayor was quick to point out following the meeting that the entire gathering was streamed live online, as all future meetings will be.

“That was one of my first campaign promises,” Lussier said, noting that the change was not difficult to carry out.

Lussier also used the first meeting to announce the majority of his nominations for city committees, mixing experienced and new councilors in various different roles based on his thoughts coming out of one-on-one meetings held last week.

Charron was named President of the Airport development corporation, a member of Sherbrooke Innopole alongside the Mayor, and the city’s representative on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).